Capsizing is a common and frequent problem for small sailboats on the order of 21 feet or less in length. Unlike larger sailboats, most of these do not have a weighted keel to prevent the boat from turtling when the boat is pushed over onto its side. Capsizing is particularly troublesome for catamarans. These boats have proportionately much greater widths and longer masts than monohulled boats of comparable length. These physical characteristics make catamarans very difficult to right, especially from the turtled position.
A number of devices have been developed to assist the sailor with capsize recovery. These generally can be broken down into two categories; those which add weight or increase leverage to the hull side of the boat, and those which add floatation to the top end of the mast. The first of these can be used both to help rotate the boat from the turtled position to the point where the mast is parallel to the surface of the water (boat on its side) and also to complete the righting process by helping to continue to rotate the boat so that the mast pulls out of the water and the boat becomes upright. Examples of such devices are water bags and extension lines attached to the hull(s) for the purpose of effectively increasing the sailor's weight and leverage. The second type of device operates strictly to prevent or counteract the rotation of the boat into an inverted position after it has fallen on its side. The floatation at the mast tip tends to lift the mast to the surface, thus keeping the boat on its side. This function could be implemented as a solid attachment such as a polystyrene or hollow rigid ball mounted atop the mast, or as an inflatable balloon which is activated during a capsize and later deflated.
It is a principal object of the present invention to use the latter approach to provide an "anti-turtling" capability for small sailboats.
A further object is to provide an inflatable balloon device which is light-weight, low-profile, and unobtrusive so that it can be used without marring the aesthetics or hindering the normal operation of the sailboat.
Another object of the invention is to provide a righting device which can be easily attached to and removed from virtually any type of small sailboat without requirement for boat modifications or installation tools.
Another object is to provide an inflatable balloon righting device which can be activated and deactivated (balloon inflated and deflated) from the base of the mast.
Still another object is to provide for a sailboat righting system which uses relatively low cost, readily-available, and environmentally safe materials in its manufacture and for its operation.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.